Newsmax, a conservative news outlet beloved by many evangelicals, was scheduled to begin defending itself this week in a jury trial over a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems. However, the trial has been delayed due to calendar conflicts within the court. A new start date has not been set.
Last month, a judge found there was solid evidence that Newsmax spread falsehoods and made defamatory statements about Dominion in relation to the 2020 presidential election. The judge found on summary judgment that Newsmax made statements that are defamatory and false, but the jury will decide whether Newsmax engaged in malice and whether Dominion suffered damages.
A spokesman for Newsmax issued a brief statement to BNG: “Newsmax covered both sides of the 2020 election dispute fairly. At no time did it defame Dominion. This case represents a serious threat to free speech and a free press and Newsmax will defend itself vigorously at trial.”
The trial is the latest chapter in the long-running saga of dozens of slow-moving defamation cases filed against conservative outlets and Christian influencers who embraced Donald Trump’s false claims of a stolen 2020 election and falsely blamed voting technology companies for effecting the steal.
The stakes are huge. Fox News already agreed to pay Dominion an unprecedented $787.5 million to settle a defamation case in 2023. The settlement was reached the day the trial was to begin.
Smartmatic, another voting company, has filed numerous defamation suits against Fox News and others. Newsmax paid $40 million to settle with Smartmatic in 2024. Newsmax recently issued its first public stock offering so it could raise funds for settlement payments, The New York Times reported.
Another conservative outlet, One America News Network, settled with Smartmatic for an undisclosed amount.
At least 15 additional defamation suits have been filed by Eric Coomer, a Dominion executive. Coomer has sued Christian radio hosts including Eric Metaxas (Salem Broadcasting) and Randy Corporon (Salem Media of Colorado). Both falsely claimed Coomer was the guy who switched Dominion’s vote tallies from Trump to Biden.
During the Nov. 24, 2020, edition of Salem Broadcasting’s Eric Metaxas Show, the host called Coomer “evil” and “Satanic,” comparing him to the Unabomber. Coomer was doxed, faced death threats and repeatedly changed residences to protect his family’s safety.
In his deposition, Metaxas admitted he had conducted zero fact-checking on these claims: “I’m kind of a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants guy. … We don’t have the budget, bandwidth or time to do anything like that. I don’t see that as my job.”
The Dominion suit against Newsmax organizes the network’s false election claims into five categories:
- That Dominion rigged the election (19 separate false statements broadcast by the network)
- That Dominion software and algorithms manipulated the vote count (15 false statements)
- That Dominion also rigged elections in Venezuela or is owned by Venezuelans (11 false statements)
- That Dominion paid kickbacks to state officials who used its machines
- That Dominion pulled similar tricks in Texas in 2018
MyPillow founder Mike Lindell faces lawsuits seeking combined damages worth billions of dollars from all three plaintiffs: Dominion, Smartmatic and Eric Coomer.
Lindell has promoted his false claims on Fox News, Steve Bannon’s War Room, and his own media enterprises, including LindellTV and a podcast. A recent episode was titled “Mike Lindell Battles Misinformation and Legal Turmoil.”
He claims he has spent millions on his election fraud activism while losing hundreds of millions in business from retail outlets that dropped him after the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, leaving him “in ruins.”
Among Lindell’s string of setbacks:
March 2025: Lindell is found in contempt for refusing to make a court-ordered payment to Smartmatic for the frivolous countersuit Lindell filed against the company.
2024: The Minnesota attorney general launched investigations into three Lindell charities (Lindell Recovery Network, The Lindell Foundation, Lindell Foundation Outreach Inc.) for charity law violations. The nonprofits’ humanitarian mission supports the needy and those struggling with addiction. In a book, Lindell described his own journey “From Crack Addict to CEO.”
Sept. 2024: Delivery company DHL sued Lindell for $800,000 in unpaid bills.
March 2024: A judge ordered Lindell to pay $5 million to a scientist who proved Lindell’s alleged data was false, winning Lindell’s “Prove Mike Wrong Challenge.” And Lindell was evicted from a warehouse over $200,000 in unpaid rent.
2023: The IRS filed two liens against Lindell’s Texas home and land for unpaid taxes. Lindell claims the IRS wrongly denied him a tax exemption for COVID medicine that passed its sell-by date in a warehouse.
Oct. 2023: Two of Lindell’s former attorneys quit his case and said he owes them millions of dollars.
April 2025, Lindell said he may run for governor of Minnesota. He made a similar claim to Focus on the Family in a Jan. 5, 2021, interview.
Lindell does have one thing going for him: Donald Trump’s support. Trump’s Treasury Department has asked the IRS to review its audit of Lindell’s taxes. A Treasury official told the IRS Lindell was a “high-profile friend of the president” who “may have been inappropriately targeted,” the Washington Post reported.
Trump also sought to pressure a law firm that has represented Dominion in its defamation lawsuits. Trump issued an executive order punishing the firm Susman Godfrey, but a federal judge blocked the order, Reuters reported.
It’s unlikely Trump will face justice for his election lies following a 2024 Supreme Court ruling granting him immunity from prosecution for actions he takes while president.
Smartmatic regularly revises its Lawsuit Updates webpage.
Dominion does the same on its Setting the Record Straight page.
This article was originally published in Baptist News Global.
